Talor Gooch explains how he romped into Brooks Koepka's LIV team Smash GC

One of the most talked about moves of the LIV golf offseason was Talor Gooch's move to the Brooks Koepka-captained team, Smash GC. Gooch, the individual champion for the 2023 season, was traded for Matthew Wolff, who finished 27th.

Talor Gooch was recently interviewed on the Fairway To Heaven podcast, which follows the happenings at LIV Golf. He reminisced about how his arrival at Brooks Koepka's Smash GC came about.

According to Talor Gooch, he first learned of Koepka's interest in acquiring his services when the two shared a round at the Valderrama tournament (early July 2023). This is what Gooch told Fairway To Heaven:

"In Spain at Valderrama, we were playing in the final round together. It was right when him and Wolffie [Matt Wolff] were kind of butting heads and I was like 'what are you going to do next season? What are you thinking?' And he was like 'Why don't you just come play for the Smash? I'd love to have you.'"

"Towards the end of the season there's rumors going around that I was going to Smash, and I was playing with Brooks on the final round of Chicago and I didn't say anything to him about it until we get to the final tee box... He goes, 'So, I hear you're coming to Smash... I don't hate it'," he added.

Gooch continued:

"Two weeks later [after Jeddah] I get a call from Brooks and he's like 'Alright, how do we make this happen?' So, we start talking through it, and he's like 'I'm going to reach out to Bubba [Watson, RangeGoats GC captain], I'm going to try to make this trade happen' and I said 'Let's see what this looks like.' I end up talking with Bubba and we got it done."

The trade of Talor Gooch for Matt Wolff has been much talked about due to their uneven performances during 2023. Recently, Bubba Watson also spoke to Fairway To Heaven about it and explained that there was a financial component to his decision, but that he is also confident in Wolff's quality as a long-term investment.

What does Smash GC look like with the arrival of Talor Gooch?

Talor Gooch was not the only addition to Brooks Koepka's Smash GC. Graeme McDowell also arrived to replace Chase Koepka, who was relegated for finishing in the so-called "Drop Zone."

The team's results during the season depend on the behavior of each of its members. Therefore, if the four members of the Smash GC can maintain a performance similar to that of 2023, much can be expected.

Koepka himself led the team as the top-ranked golfer, as he finished third in the individual standings for the season. Koepka finished with two wins and three other top 10s. Although he has no direct bearing on the LIV Golf results, it goes without saying that he won a Major and finished in the Top 20s in two others (including a runner-up).

Newcomer Gooch, as previously mentioned, was the season's individual champion with three wins and eight Top 20s. The other player remaining in the Smash GCs, Jason Kokrak, finished 23rd, with five Top 15s.

Graeme McDowell, meanwhile, was not very good during the season. Finishing 42nd, he came close to being relegated. However, he is a Major champion with a lot of experience. In all likelihood, Brooks Koepka is hoping not only that he can improve his game, but that he can help off the course as well.